This invention relates to a portable computer.
It relates particularly to a card housing attachment for use with a portable computer of the kind having a battery tray compartment with an opening in the back side of the computer.
The card housing attachment of the present invention comprises an upper housing (for enclosing and mounting a selected add-on card) and a battery compartment slide-in structure (which is insertable into a battery tray compartment opening in the back side of the portable computer).
The battery tray compartment slide-in structure plugs into the main bus of the computer to supply power to the add-on card and to transmit control signals and data between the add-on card and the computer bus.
The card housing is a compact structure which fits on the top side of the case of the portable computer near the rear of the computer. In this location the card housing does not require any additional desk space and permits the display of the portable computer to be tilted back to its usual operative position without any interference to the tilting of the display or to any other components of the portable computer.
There are a large number and variety of add-on cards which have been developed for providing enhanced operation and/or additional functions for microprocessor based computers. Many of these add-on cards have become industry standard add-on cards, and many of the add-on cards are made primarily for plug-in attachment to an existing slot in the chassis of a desk top computer.
Portable computers often do not have such existing slots (or even the required space for such slots) within the outer, protective case of the portable computers. It is therefore often not possible to accommodate the plug-in addition of such industry standard add-on cards within the interior of the outer, protective case of portable computers.
A number of auxiliary structures and portable computer bus access techniques have been developed for permitting industry standard add-on cards to be associated with portable computers.
The auxiliary structures have, in some cases, resulted in rather bulky and space consuming housings. Such housings were not entirely satisfactory because of the increased weight, bulkiness or need of increased desk space.
The techniques for access to the portable computer bus as developed in the past have, in some cases, required the development of specialized hardware and/or add-on cards with the result that industry standard cards could not readily be utilized.
It is a primary object of the present invention to construct a card housing attachment (1) which permits a variety of industry standard cards to be readily accommodated and (2) which permits the card housing attachment to be conveniently and readily associated with the portable computer and (3) which does not require increased desk space and (4) which permits normal tilt back positioning of the display.
It is a related object to utilize the space on the top of the portable computer in the rear part of the portable computer behind the tilt-back display so that the card housing attachment occupies only space which (1) is otherwise not used and (2) which does not take away from usable space on a desk top.
It is another object of the invention to permit a variety of industry standard add-on cards to be readily accommodated.
It is another object of the present invention to construct the card housing attachment so that the attachment can be quickly and easily removed when the portable computer is to be operated as a portable computer without the need for an add-on card.